Factors affecting the growth of small privately-owned financial planning businesses

Over the past 10 years, there have been many financial scandals in the financial advice industry, which has caused substantial losses for investors. Large wealth institutions controlled by major Australian banks have significantly contributed to investor losses by promoting their products which were not always in the best interests of clients. The aim of this study was to explore the factors affecting the current and future growth of small privately-owned financial planning businesses as a competitive marketplace provides better consumer outcomes. The study undertook a qualitative approach using an exploratory research design which involved the recruitment of 51 privately-owned financial planning practice owners who were personally interviewed with semi-structured interview questions. Using a theoretical framework based on Michael Porter\u27s five competitive forces model, the study found that the main factors enhancing growth were differentiation of service, technology enhancement, target marketing and business and client referral arrangements. Factors that negatively affected growth included the affordability of providing advice due to regulatory changes and the negative public perception associated with various industry scandals. The results provide existing and new entrant adviser practices with valuable knowledge to make informed decisions in the areas of practice management and direction. Additionally, the study provides policymakers and regulators with further knowledge to better support the privately-owned financial planning sector, thus enabling consumers to benefit from a more competitive marketplace

Screening of Non- Saccharomyces cerevisiae Strains for Tolerance to Formic Acid in Bioethanol Fermentation.

Formic acid is one of the major inhibitory compounds present in hydrolysates derived from lignocellulosic materials, the presence of which can significantly hamper the efficiency of converting available sugars into bioethanol. This study investigated the potential for screening formic acid tolerance in non-Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains, which could be used for the development of advanced generation bioethanol processes. Spot plate and phenotypic microarray methods were used to screen the formic acid tolerance of 7 non-Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts. S. kudriavzeii IFO1802 and S. arboricolus 2.3319 displayed a higher formic acid tolerance when compared to other strains in the study. Strain S. arboricolus 2.3319 was selected for further investigation due to its genetic variability among the Saccharomyces species as related to Saccharomyces cerevisiae and availability of two sibling strains: S. arboricolus 2.3317 and 2.3318 in the lab. The tolerance of S. arboricolus strains (2.3317, 2.3318 and 2.3319) to formic acid was further investigated by lab-scale fermentation analysis, and compared with S. cerevisiae NCYC2592. S. arboricolus 2.3319 demonstrated improved formic acid tolerance and a similar bioethanol synthesis capacity to S. cerevisiae NCYC2592, while S. arboricolus 2.3317 and 2.3318 exhibited an overall inferior performance. Metabolite analysis indicated that S. arboricolus strain 2.3319 accumulated comparatively high concentrations of glycerol and glycogen, which may have contributed to its ability to tolerate high levels of formic acid

Parallel, Adaptive‐Mesh‐Refinement MHD for Global Space‐Weather Simulations

The first part of this paper reviews some issues representing major computational challenges for global MHD models of the space environment. These issues include mathematical formulation and discretization of the governing equations that ensure the proper jump conditions and propagation speeds, regions of relativistic Alfvén speed, and controlling the divergence of the magnetic field. The second part of the paper concentrates on modern solution methods that have been developed by the aerodynamics, applied mathematics and DoE communities. Such methods have recently begun to be implemented in space‐physics codes, which solve the governing equations for a compressible magnetized plasma. These techniques include high‐resolution upwind schemes, block‐based solution‐adaptive grids and domain decomposition for parallelization. We describe the space physics MHD code developed at the University of Michigan, based on the developments listed above. © 2003 American Institute of PhysicsPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87656/2/807_1.pd

Action 3:30R: Results of a cluster randomised feasibility study of a revised teaching assistant-led extracurricular physical activity intervention for 8 to 10 year olds

Many children are not sufficiently physically active. We conducted a cluster-randomised feasibility trial of a revised after-school physical activity (PA) programme delivered by trained teaching assistants (TAs) to assess the potential evidence of promise for increasing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Participants (n = 335) aged 8–10 years were recruited from 12 primary schools in South West England. Six schools were randomised to receive the intervention and six acted as non-intervention controls. In intervention schools, TAs were trained to deliver an after-school programme for 15 weeks. The difference in mean accelerometer-assessed MVPA between intervention and control schools was assessed at follow-up (T1). The cost of programme delivery was estimated. Two schools did not deliver the intervention, meaning four intervention and six control schools were analysed at T1. There was no evidence for a difference in MVPA at T1 between intervention and control groups. Programme delivery cost was estimated at £2.06 per pupil per session. Existing provision in the 12 schools cost £5.91 per pupil per session. Action 3:30 was feasible to deliver and considerably cheaper than existing after-school provision. No difference in weekday MVPA was observed at T1 between the two groups, thus progression to a full trial is not warranted

Halloween Storm Simulations with the Space Weather Modeling Framework

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77046/1/AIAA-2006-87-256.pd

Generation of Genic Diversity among Streptococcus pneumoniae Strains via Horizontal Gene Transfer during a Chronic Polyclonal Pediatric Infection

Although there is tremendous interest in understanding the evolutionary roles of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) processes that occur during chronic polyclonal infections, to date there have been few studies that directly address this topic. We have characterized multiple HGT events that most likely occurred during polyclonal infection among nasopharyngeal strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae recovered from a child suffering from chronic upper respiratory and middle-ear infections. Whole genome sequencing and comparative genomics were performed on six isolates collected during symptomatic episodes over a period of seven months. From these comparisons we determined that five of the isolates were genetically highly similar and likely represented a dominant lineage. We analyzed all genic and allelic differences among all six isolates and found that all differences tended to occur within contiguous genomic blocks, suggestive of strain evolution by homologous recombination. From these analyses we identified three strains (two of which were recovered on two different occasions) that appear to have been derived sequentially, one from the next, each by multiple recombination events. We also identified a fourth strain that contains many of the genomic segments that differentiate the three highly related strains from one another, and have hypothesized that this fourth strain may have served as a donor multiple times in the evolution of the dominant strain line. The variations among the parent, daughter, and grand-daughter recombinant strains collectively cover greater than seven percent of the genome and are grouped into 23 chromosomal clusters. While capturing in vivo HGT, these data support the distributed genome hypothesis and suggest that a single competence event in pneumococci can result in the replacement of DNA at multiple non-adjacent loci

Structure and Function of a Mycobacterial NHEJ DNA Repair Polymerase

Non homologous end-joining (NHEJ)-mediated repair of DNA double-strand breaks in prokaryotes requires Ku and a specific multidomain DNA ligase (LigD). We present crystal structures of the primase/polymerisation domain (PolDom) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis LigD, alone and complexed with nucleotides. The PolDom structure combines the general fold of the archaeo-eukaryotic primase (AEP) superfamily with additional loops and domains that together form a deep cleft on the surface, likely used for DNA binding. Enzymatic analysis indicates that the PolDom of LigD, even in the absence of accessory domains and Ku proteins, has the potential to recognise DNA end-joining intermediates. Strikingly, one of the main signals for the specific and efficient binding of PolDom to DNA is the presence of a 5'-phosphate group, located at the single/double-stranded junction at both gapped and 3'-protruding DNA molecules. Although structurally unrelated, Pol lambda and Pol mu, the two eukaryotic DNA polymerases involved in NHEJ, are endowed with a similar capacity to bind a 5'-phosphate group. Other properties that are beneficial for NHEJ, such as the ability to generate template distortions and realignments of the primer, displayed by Pol lambda and Pol mu, are shared by the PolDom of bacterial LigD. In addition, PolDom can perform non-mutagenic translesion synthesis on termini containing modified bases. Significantly, ribonucleotide insertion appears to be a recurrent theme associated with NHEJ, maximised in this case by the deployment of a dedicated primase, although its in vivo relevance is unknown

Differences in genotype and virulence among four multidrug-resistant <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> isolates belonging to the PMEN1 clone

We report on the comparative genomics and characterization of the virulence phenotypes of four &lt;i&gt;S. pneumoniae&lt;/i&gt; strains that belong to the multidrug resistant clone PMEN1 (Spain&lt;sup&gt;23F&lt;/sup&gt; ST81). Strains SV35-T23 and SV36-T3 were recovered in 1996 from the nasopharynx of patients at an AIDS hospice in New York. Strain SV36-T3 expressed capsule type 3 which is unusual for this clone and represents the product of an in vivo capsular switch event. A third PMEN1 isolate - PN4595-T23 - was recovered in 1996 from the nasopharynx of a child attending day care in Portugal, and a fourth strain - ATCC700669 - was originally isolated from a patient with pneumococcal disease in Spain in 1984. We compared the genomes among four PMEN1 strains and 47 previously sequenced pneumococcal isolates for gene possession differences and allelic variations within core genes. In contrast to the 47 strains - representing a variety of clonal types - the four PMEN1 strains grouped closely together, demonstrating high genomic conservation within this lineage relative to the rest of the species. In the four PMEN1 strains allelic and gene possession differences were clustered into 18 genomic regions including the capsule, the blp bacteriocins, erythromycin resistance, the MM1-2008 prophage and multiple cell wall anchored proteins. In spite of their genomic similarity, the high resolution chinchilla model was able to detect variations in virulence properties of the PMEN1 strains highlighting how small genic or allelic variation can lead to significant changes in pathogenicity and making this set of strains ideal for the identification of novel virulence determinant

Sitting time, fidgeting and all-cause mortality in the UK Women's Cohort Study

Introduction: Sedentary behaviours (including sitting) may increase risk of mortality independently of physical activity level. Little is known about how fidgeting behaviours might modify the association. Methods: Data were drawn from the UK Women’s Cohort Study. In 1999/2002, 12,778 women (age 37 to 78) provided data on average daily sitting time, overall fidgeting (irrespective of posture), and a range of relevant covariates including physical activity, diet, smoking status and alcohol consumption. Participants were followed for mortality over a mean of 12 years. Proportional hazards Cox regression models were used to estimate the relative risk of mortality in the high (vs. low) and medium (vs. low) sitting time groups. Results: Fidgeting modified the risk associated with sitting time (p value for interaction = 0.04), leading us to separate groups for analysis. Adjusting for a range of covariates, sitting for 7+ hours/day (vs. <5 hours/day) was associated with 30% increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 1.30, 95% CI 1.02, 1.66) only among women in the low fidgeting group. Among women in the high fidgeting group, sitting for 5/6 (vs. <5 hrs/day) was associated with decreased risk of mortality (HR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.43, 0.91), adjusting for a range of covariates. There was no increased risk of mortality from longer sitting time in the middle and high fidgeting groups. Conclusions: Fidgeting may reduce the risk of all-cause mortality associated with excessive sitting time. More detailed and better validated measures of fidgeting should be identified in other studies in order to replicate these findings and identity mechanisms, particularly measures that distinguish fidgeting in a seated from standing posture

Translocation-independent dimerization of the EcoKI endonuclease visualized by atomic force microscopy

AbstractBacterial type I restriction/modification systems are capable of performing multiple actions in response to the methylation pattern on their DNA recognition sequences. The enzymes making up these systems serve to protect the bacterial cells against viral infection by binding to their recognition sequences on the invading DNA and degrading it after extensive ATP-driven translocation. DNA cleavage has been thought to occur as the result of a collision between two translocating enzyme complexes. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), we show here that EcoKI dimerizes rapidly when bound to a plasmid containing two recognition sites for the enzyme. Dimerization proceeds in the absence of ATP and is also seen with an EcoKI mutant (K477R) that is unable to translocate DNA. Only monomers are seen when the enzyme complex binds to a plasmid containing a single recognition site. Based on our results, we propose that the binding of EcoKI to specific DNA target sequences is accompanied by a conformational change that leads rapidly to dimerization. This event is followed by ATP-dependent translocation and cleavage of the DNA